[4] In 1907, Martin Cohn (who later changed his surname to Nordegg) of the German Development Company, working with D.B.

Dowling of the Geological Survey of Canada, staked claims covering coal deposits near the South Brazeau (now Blackstone), Bighorn, and North Saskatchewan rivers.

At Nordegg's urging, Brazeau Collieries Ltd. was founded to exploit them, and the Canadian Northern Railway (which later became part of the Canadian National Railway) agreed to build a rail line to the northern part of the area.

[3] A small camp was established at the future townsite in 1911, coal production began in earnest in 1912, and the rail line, known as the Brazeau Branch, arrived at the town in 1913.

In 1914, the town was founded as one of the first planned communities in Alberta[3] and it was named in honor of Martin Nordegg's efforts by railway entrepreneur William Mackenzie.

Martin Nordegg was permitted to remain at the town and supervise operations, but in the summer of 1915 he was asked to leave Canada.

Five small briquetting plants were added to the operation in 1937 to produce a marketable product from powdery, fine coal.

The town reached a maximum population of about 2,500 in the early 1940s, and a surface mining operation was added in 1946.

Clearwater County has released plans for the redevelopment of downtown Nordegg, much of it on the footprint of the original townsite.